Aurelia || SERIES ROMANA I

Chapter 74 ~ Succedanea

When he opened his eyes the next morning, their eyes met. Aurelia looked as if she hadn't been able to sleep all night. Sleepily, he tilted his head and tried to make sense of her expression.
"There is something I have to tell you," she said, and he was suddenly awake. He sat up bolt upright and looked down at her expectantly. Slowly she straightened up and gently rested her hand on his shoulder. Clear and composed, she told him about the failed invasion of Britain she had read about in her original time. Thoughtfully, he rubbed his chin, ignoring the scratching of his stubble. He really needed to get a shave this morning.
"Will you help me prevent these mistakes?" he asked after a while, and she rested her chin on his shoulder with a smile.
"With the greatest pleasure," she whispered and kissed him softly on the cheek. Reprovingly, she looked him in the eye and said with amusement, "Get a shave or you'll turn into a barbarian."
"Am I not already married to a barbarian?" he groaned, dropping theatrically back into the pillows and skilfully ignoring her. Her pillow narrowly missed him. His wife really was a miserable thrower - especially when she was angry. Just as she was about to get up in a huff, he shot up, got hold of her by the waist and pulled her back onto the bed with him. Mercilessly, he began to tickle her sensitive spots and her beautiful laughter filled the room. It wasn't long before she was laughing and begging for mercy. With one fluid movement he rolled on top of her and held her captive with his body beneath him. Breathless, she blinked up at him.
"Do you submit to the power of Rome, barbarian?" he teased her playfully, giving her a stern look that did not match his grin. Her eyes darkened with desire and instinctively her body pressed towards his.
"Rome - never, you - maybe," she provoked him challengingly and his throat went abruptly dry. Seductively she murmured, "Convince me, Roman."
Suddenly she froze and listened intently. Abruptly serious, he followed her example and realised from the sound of approaching footsteps that it must be a Praetorian. Only two praetorians were authorised to enter these chambers without his permission - his prefects Clemens and Suetonius. The latter had taken over the night watch and had probably been relieved by Clemens about an hour ago. Without taking his eyes off her, Gaius ordered, growling, "Not now, Clemens."
So quietly that only she could hear, he added in a whisper, "I am currently in a very important negotiation about the future of Rome with the stunningly beautiful daughter of the leader of a Germanic tribe that I intend to subjugate"
Hastily, the Praetorian Prefect's footsteps moved away. Her eyes flashed with amusement.
"Sometimes you are quite mad," she teased him with a laugh, then she pressed her lips to his mouth in a demanding manner and he forgot who was trying to subjugate whom.

Fascinated, he watched with what eagerness Aurelia participated in the planning. For hours she tried to draw maps of Britain from memory or tell him everything she knew about the island and its inhabitants. But she didn't just help him plan. With relentless ambition, she extended not only his but also her own training sessions with Clemens and Suetonius. Sometimes they fought each other and slowly he stopped worrying about her. Already he felt sorry for the idiot who would dare get in her way. She was almost his equal - even though, unlike her, he had been studying martial arts all his life.
They spent a particularly long time discussing which legions they could withdraw from their actual locations for the invasion and who should command them. Finally, they agreed on II Augusta, IX Hispania, XIV Gemina and XX Valeria Victrix. The first two would be commanded by Vespasian, who already held the empire over II Augusta, and his brother Sabinus. The other decisions were not easy for them, for Aurelia was in favour of entrusting Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo and Aulus Plautius with the campaign as well, but Gaius wanted to give his uncle Claudius the opportunity to achieve military glory as well. Finally, they agreed to keep Corbulo in Rome as a reserve and if he needed him or if Uncle Claudius could not do his job, Gaius would send for him.
After this was cleared up, Aurelia sent a coded letter to Vespasian. When he asked her about the contents, she just smiled at him mysteriously and said that Vespasian had a small task to do before the campaign could begin. Although she puzzled him, Gaius did not probe further. Presumably she had only asked her cousin to raise more auxiliaries.
They agreed on March 16 of the next year as the official date of departure from Rome. Aurelia looked at him thoughtfully but did not object. For this would give him a few more precious months in which to raise more troops in Gaul before his passage to Britain and to prepare the soldiers on the ground for the first battles. He also hoped to prevent the mutiny mentioned by Aurelia by choosing the summer for the crossing when the seas were usually gentler. The success of any campaign lay in precise planning. The right strategy not only led to victory but saved lives. Father had taught him that.